Montek Singh Ahluwalia (born 24 November 1943) is an Indian economist and civil servant who was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, a position which carried the rank of a Cabinet Minister.

In 2001, he was chosen by the Board of International Monetary Fund to be the first director of the newly created Independent Evaluation Office, in which capacity he supervised several studies critical of various aspects of the functioning of the IMF.

In June 2004, he resigned from the IMF position to take up as the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission as part of the United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi.

The book is a mix of personal reflections and national economic history, and sets forth Ahluwalia's ideas on issues of contemporary significance including education, rural development and energy.

[9] He currently holds the position of Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress - a New Delhi based think tank.

[10] In June 2021, Ahluwalia was named for the high level advisory group formed jointly by IMF and World bank in the face of dual challenges of Climate Change and COVID-19 pandemic.